Shoulder surgery awaits Cards’ Pham

Oft-injured outfielder Tommy Pham planned to undergo surgery on a shoulder after the season. But apparently that plan has been expedited.

Triple-A Memphis disabled the 25-year-old on Saturday, and an upcoming surgery is planned, according to St. Louis’ senior adviser to player development, Gary LaRocque.

Pham hit .296 in parts of four seasons with Double-A Springfield and was promoted to Memphis on June 21 shortly after his second stint on the disabled list this season. He was batting .264 in the Pacific Coast League.

Pham, a 16th-round draft pick in 2006 out of a Las Vegas high school, has had a string of season-ending injuries:

In August 2010, he suffered a wrist injury after being hit by a pitch. It came only two days after his most electrifying night of his career – two home runs, two doubles and a wall-banging catch at Hammons Field. He was batting .339 in his six weeks in Double-A.

In mid-May 2011, he injured his left wrist on a catch at the wall and missed the rest of the season. He was batting .300.

In April 2012, weeks after wrecking his right shoulder on a diving grab during spring training, the Cardinals shut down Pham 12 games into the summer.

About Kary Booher

Kary Booher covers the Springfield Cardinals and small colleges for the News-Leader. A native of southern Kansas, he is a graduate (and former sports editor of student newspapers) of Cowley County (Kan.) Community College and Oklahoma State University. You also may have read his work on the sports pages in Topeka and Pittsburg in Kansas and Jackson, Tenn., or once saw him in his youth water-skiing on Table Rock Lake near the Kimberling City bridge.